2009 marked a new era in Formula One
with a set of technical regulations that would alter the face of the
racing and displace some of the old guard from the top branches. Red
Bull had been busy preparing themselves for a number of seasons in
preparation for the task at hand taking huge strides in the way in
which they approached both design and development. Their
infrastructure be it technical staff or facilities now rivaled if
not exceeded some of the top teams and allowed them to steal a march
in 2009. The technical regulations outlined by the FIA for 2009 were
designed to make the cars more sparse, reducing the effects of 'Wake'
so that cars could follow each other more easily. The most obvious
visual changes were the lower and wider Front Wing and the shorter
and taller Rear Wing. Slicks made a welcomed return to F1 which
again would alter the racing dynamic affording more mechanical grip.
Intent on making F1 a motorsport category that once again involved
close wheel to wheel racing and overtaking the FIA also allowed the
Front Wings flap to have a 6 degree movement. Engine rev limits were
reduced to 18,000rpm and each driver now had an 8 engine allocation
for the entire season. KERS also featured for the first time in 2009
allowing those cars equipped with the 80bhp boost around 6 seconds of
additional power. Track testing which had allowed the front runners
to stay ahead for many seasons would now be halved from 30,000 KM to
15,000 KM and could not be conducted throughout the season. Wind
Tunnel testing that was also an expensive commodity could only be run
at a maximum of 50 metres per second with a 60% model. (4 hours of
Full Scale Wind Tunnel testing could however be traded for one of the
4 permitted days of straightline testing)

The retirement of David Coulthard at
the end of 08 paved the way for the raw pace of Red Bull's starlet
Sebastian Vettel who had impressed hugely whilst at the wheel of the
Toro Rosso.

2009 - RB5

We all know of the arguments that
ensued at the beginning of 2009 when BrawnGP, Toyota and Williams had
exploited a loophole in the new rules to use Double Decked Diffusers.
This led to those teams having an advantage at the start of the
season whilst the others went off to redesign their own iterations.
Red Bull were one of the teams that lobbied for the DDD's to be
banned as they knew that implementing it on the RB5 would lead to a
compromised design. This was firstly blamed on the introduction of
pull rod suspension on that years challenger which lowered the centre
of gravity but was said to encumber the airflow to the DDD if
applied. The pull rod suspension was not the only reason that using
the DDD on the RB5 would be difficult the design of the gearbox which
was also lowly slung was also essential in how the airflow path
utilised the top deck. Brawn GP had been eager to use the Carbon
Fibre casing designed in the Honda days in the BGP-001 to this end.

Even without the DDD it was clear the
RB5 was the best of the Newey designed Red Bull's thus far with the
teams first 1-2 coming in China. The car featured elements not seen
on other designs with a ridged nosecone and extremely sculpted
Sidepods that left the exhaust to exit just under the upper wishbone.
Newey and the design team also took the wording around the Rear Wing
Endplates and Diffuser to it's usual limits by extending the
Endplates down to form part of the Diffuser.

The diffuser stole the limelight in
2009 which clouded the effects seen by both mechanically and
aerodynamically by the switch to slick tyres. The reintroduction of
slick tyres was just one of the measures both the FIA and TWG
believed could reinvigorate the wheel to wheel racing in F1. Tyres
are the unsung heroes in terms of the racing element and can make a
huge difference to a cars design. Undoubtedly Bridgestone would have
adopted a different ethos when designing their Slick tyres, both
different compounds and the tyres construction would differ from the
ones used with their grooved tyres. The media are always quick to
talk about the downforce being generated by the cars most likely as
they feel this is quantifiable to the fans. The role the rubber
plays however can be just as important as it too can have an effect
on the aerodynamics and the downforce that can be generated.
Understanding the tyres dynamics also helps to setup up the cars
suspension which in turn can provide a performance advantage by
decreasing wear life.

In stark contrast to the established
frontrunners the RB5's wheelbase was quite a margin longer which
would have an impact on weight distribution, suspension setup and of
course aerodynamics. Whilst the other teams had utilised the DDD
loophole in order to increase the height of the Diffuser Red Bull
expanded the diffusers size by lengthening the area with the Rear
Wing Endplates. As the team had plenty of space left either side of
the Rear Wing Endpates (As their Diffuser didn't stretch to it's
maximum permissible size) they attached footplates between the
Endplate and the Wheel in order to create a lengthened vortex
managing the effects of Tyre Squirt on the Diffuser. The original
footplates from the Jerez test were simply flat but when the car
arrived in Australia they had a distinct arc to them.

Above: With the RB5 side by side
with the McLaren MP4-24 we can see the different Rear Wing and
Diffuser Ethos' at play, with McLaren using a much wider Diffuser
area. The footplates mentioned above have been arrowed

Although the RB5 didn't feature it in
it's launch spec by Melbourne the team had added a shark fin, unlike
the fins that featured on the likes of the Renault R29 though the
RB5's stretched all the way to the top flap of the rear wing
connecting the two.

Above: The RB5's Rear Wing
Connecting Shark Fin

Carried across from the last regulation
set was the use of Wheel Covers, these help manage the airflow around
the wheel.

In Malaysia the team introduced a hole
in the floor just in front of the rear tyre, this was placed here to
create a vortex which in turn would aid in the Diffuser's efficiency.

Above: Giorgio Piola Illustrates the
hole created in the RB5's floor from Malaysia onward

The RB5 originally featured mirrors on
stalks that connected to the outside edge of the Sidepod in order to
clear the usual space they occupied next to the cockpit for better
airflow. Outboard mirrors as they became to be known had been a
feature of the Ferrari F2009 since the start of the season and
mounted the mirror directly to the Sidepod Airflow Conditioner. Red
Bull followed suit in Barcelona further clearing the Sidepod of
intrusions.

Furthermore in Barcelona the team added
a hole in the central 15cm exclusion zone of the top flap this would
allow for a steeper AoA making the wing more efficient.

Above: Red Bull RB5 at Barcelona
with their newly positioned Wing Mirrors and centralised slot in the
Rear Wing's top flap

The team introduced their interim DDD
at Round 6 in Monaco which featured the higher deck exiting either
side of their low slung gearbox/crash structure.

Above: The damaged RB5 is lifted off the track at Monaco affording us the opportunity to see the channels used by Red Bull to feed their upper deck of the Double Diffuser

Above: The New DDD exited centrally
above the main diffuser. Also very noteworthy in this picture is
something that I think has often been overlooked in Newey's designs
and that’s the halfshaft covers (Shroud). Here on the RB5 (Arrowed) they
extend to cover the central portion of the Diffuser limiting the
exhaust plumes influence on the Magnus Effect created by the
halfshafts. (A rotating part creates downforce which is fine if the
airflow to the rotating object is continuous and laminar) The
placement of the exhaust on the RB5 without this shroud would leave
the halfshaft exposed to the inconsistent and erratic exhaust plume.
By placing this shroud over the halfshaft it isn't exposed to an
inconsistent airflow pattern and so continues to provide a consistent
level of downforce of it's own.

The largest revisions however came 2
races later at Silverstone when the team introduced a new nose which
was much wider than it's predecessor and placed the FOM camera's
either side of the nose tip immediately bringing to mind the image of
a Hammerhead Shark. The nose profile suddenly became the widest in
the field and this change of ethos would change the aero further
downstream (The team did continue to use the slimmer nose at several
GP afterward). To tie in with this change at the front of the car
the team revised the rear layout reducing the height of the Rear Wing
Endplates and increasing the width of the diffuser. An expanded
central section in the centre of the Diffuser helped to maximise the
DDD effect with the RB5's configuration.

Above: Sebastian Vettel crosses the
line to take victory at Silverstone the new wider Nose is easy to see
in this image

Above: As the Red Bull driver is
congratulated by his team we can see that they are now running a
revised Rear Wing Endplate and Diffuser configuration

The Front Wing of the RB5 changed
frequently throughout 2009 but a significant change came in Spa when
the team adopted the type of Cascades that we still see on the cars
up and down the grid today.

Above: We can see in this image that
not only did the team revert back to the slimmed nosecone for Spa
they introduced their Front Wing Cascades. The Cascade still
provided a platform for the bridge wings to extend from too

BrawnGP's early advantage allowed them
the required buffer to take both 2009 Championship's but it was clear
to see that Red Bull's investment in the proceeding seasons was
starting to pay dividends. With 6 race victories and 16 Podium
visits in total between their 2 drivers it was clear to see that the
team now had the core strengths with which to win Championships.
Only a bad start to the season for the young German tied in with
Their Achilles heal (reliability) meant the Red Bull team fell just
short of taking the titles in 2009. Their development push on the
RB5 throughout 2009 stood them in good stead for 2010. BrawnGP
completed a late deal that was to put them into Mercedes ownership
for 2010 but due to the reverse fortunes of Red Bull in terms of
funding and staff they would fall away for 2010. ( I wrote about this
in a previous article: The Trouble at Mercedes)

Above: Toro Rosso's 2009 Challenger
the STR4 seemed from the outside to be a replica of the RB5

For 2009 the Toro Rosso team fielded
the Sebastians of Buemi and Bourdais the latter however made way for
Jaime Alguersuari from Hungary onwards. 2009 provided the backdrop to
an uninspiring season from the Red Bull B team with only 6 points
finishes leaving the team at the bottom of the Constructors table.
The STR4 was essentially a RB5 but failed to come even close to the
performance of it's Renault powered sibling.

2010 - RB6

Although on the face of it the cars
didn't seem distinctively different for 2010 there were some fairly
large design considerations to take into account. Firstly re-fueling
was banned and so the cars would need to carry enough fuel to
complete the whole race. This would have an effect on both the
balance and wheelbase of the cars. Wheel Covers that had now become
complex aerodynamic devices were banned and in an effort to reduce
grip levels following the switch to Slick tyres in 2009 the Front
Tyres were reduced in width from 270mm to 245mm. Renault were
allowed dispensation by the FIA/Teams to work on their engine to
bring it inline with the competition something that proved vital in
Red Bull's progress. KERS proved somewhat of a damp squib in 2009
with both Brawn & Red Bull not opting to use it throughout the
season even though the cars had been designed with it in mind. With
3 new teams entering the sport the teams took the decision not to run
the system at all in 2010 but refine the concept for it's
reintroduction in 2011. After the controversy of 2009 the teams were
allowed to continue usage of the DDD's with a ban coming into effect
in 2011. This allowed all the teams to fully commit to this design
path for 2010 with Red Bull opting to not only use the space above as
a secondary deck for the diffuser but also feeding it with airflow
from the Sidepods / Radiators. The design team raised the Gearbox /
Crash Structure on the RB6 to allow for a much cleaner airflow path
for their DDD.

Above: On the underside of the car
the RB6 featured a much larger entrance to their second deck than any
of the other teams.

Several developments arose during the
early stages of 2010 with Red Bull triggering the development path of
one of these with their Exhaust Blown Diffuser. The team tested with
a similar configuration used on the RB5 but when the teams arrived in
Bahrain Red Bull had another exhaust up their sleeves. The RB6's
exhaust now lay to the bottom rear of the Sidepod and would send it's
exhaust gasses between the edge of the floor and tyre. This would
create a spiral effect which would seal the diffuser at it
extremities allowing for a much more productive Diffuser. Once again
this allowed Newey to shroud the inner part of the halfshafts
removing them from the inconsistent exhaust plume. With the central
portion of the Diffuser isolated a window was opened up in the outer
section of the diffuser in order to extract more performance from the
exhausts energy.

Above: The RB6 looked remarkably
like it's predecessor the RB5 but as we can see in this picture the
exhaust was positioned low on the floor in order to help maximise
Diffuser performance

Above: A window of opportunity, with
the central portion of the diffuser isolated this window in the outer
section of the diffuser allowed the exhaust plume to further
influence performance

Furthermore Red Bull used Off Throttle
Blowing during qualifying in order to extract more performance. Off
throttle blowing enables a more consistent exhaust plume, as the
driver comes off the throttle the engine map retards the ignition and
with the exhaust valve open the explosion happens in the exhaust
rather than being used to drive the piston down. This is known as
Hot blowing and can over a sustained time frame be detrimental to
engine performance. All in all the driver gets more downforce when
he needs it in the corners.

Above: In China the team introduced under nose
Turning Vanes, these L shaped appendages would help to manage the
airflow under the central portion of the car and deter any errant
airflow from the wheels to impinge on it.

The other device that had caused a stir
when McLaren started testing was their RW80 or F-Duct as the
mainstream media coined it. The device reduced drag on the Rear Wing
by Stalling the plane it was attached to but was controversial due
the need of the driver to cover a hole in the cockpit. It's
integration into the other cars would be a long winded process as
they set about routing the pipework through the car. Sauber were the
quickest off the mark with their own version being ready for Round 2
at Melbourne, Red Bull first tested their own iteration in Turkey but
didn't race it. The team also introduced a new Front Wing in Turkey
featuring a hole in the Endplate that would allow air to move between
the two sides, but just like the F-Duct this was only used in
Practice as they reverted to the old specification for the race and
qually.

Silverstone provided the backdrop for
another significant alteration to the front of the RB6 with the FOM
camera's being relocated low between the pylons and aft of the FIA
mandated Front Wing area. Alterations were also made to the
Endplates which now featured 2 holes allowing air to pass between the
2 sections and making for a more efficient assembly. This would
however lead to a somewhat frosty relationship within the team. As
when Sebastian damaged his new version of the front wing in practice,
the team decided to take the only other iteration of the wing
available from Mark's car and place it on Seb's car. This seemingly
set the tone in the team and marked the first major rift to appear in
the Red Bull façade. Webber went on to win the race at Silverstone
even without the seemingly quicker Front Wing and remarked on the
radio on his in-lap: 'Not bad for a number 2 driver, eh?'

It's clear to see why Mark would be so
frustrated as the senior driver up until Silverstone he was only 12
points adrift of his German counterpart and both still within
touching distance of the 2 McLaren drivers.

Above: The controversial Front Wing
featuring 2 Endplate holes and the placement of the FOM carmera's to
the lower position between the wing pylons.

As the season moved on it became
obvious that Red Bull had devised a way in which to make the Front
Wing flex whilst still passing the FIA's load tests. This flexibilty
allowed the tips of the wing to flex down toward the track, of course
all wings flex but Red Bull had used techniques they had been honing
in order to circumnavigate the FIA load tests. The tests carried out
initially in 2010 saw a 50KG force applied to the Endplate allowing a
10mm flexing tolerance. The FIA altered this from the Belgium GP to
100KG of force with a 20mm tolerance. The flexing Front Wings became
an area for the other teams to chase with Ferrari perhaps sticking in
the memory for their 'fluttering' wings. The principal behind the
flexibility was to change the characteristics of the Wing creating a
skirt as the cascade droops to the ground.

Above: In Singapore the team introduced a new
F-Duct system utilising the mainplane rather than the top flap.
Combined with this they returned to using a hole in 15cm central
portion of the top flap to aid efficiency. Adrian also inspects the effects
of the New Beam Wing configuration being used with flo-viz indicating
it's effectiveness.

The team took 9 victories in 2010 and
with a further 11 trips to the podium the team clinched the
Constructors title at Brazil where the team completed a 1-2 finish
creating an insurmountable lead. Meanwhile the driver's title was a
hard fought battle between the two Red Bull drivers and Ferrari's
Fernando Alonso. The Driver's title went to the last race in Abu
Dhabi where Sebastian crowned a great season finishing 1st.
A frustrated Alonso finished in 7th having spent a large
proportion of the race behind the Renault of Petrov awarding
Sebastian the title by just 4 points.

2010 marked the first time since Red
Bull had taken ownership of the Toro Rosso team that it must design
and build it's own car. The teams facilities in Italy took care of
the build of the car whilst the Wind Tunnel facilities the team also
owned in Bicester (Left over from the Jaguar purchase) were also put
to use. At this juncture I believe Red Bull and Toro Rosso's
histories fail to align and so I won't cover their progress here on
in.

2011 - RB7

2011 saw the teams adjusting to more
regulation changes with the proposed banning of DDD's (Double Decked
Diffuser') being implemented with Diffuser height being shrunk from a
maximum of 175mm to 125mm. The F Duct that was pioneered by McLaren
and copied by most of the field throughout 2010 was outlawed but
having seen the potential for reducing drag at the rear wing the FIA
ushered in DRS (Drag Reduction System). The new system allowed the
driver to change the angle of the Rear Wings top flap in order to
shed the drag induced by the wing. It's use would be unlimited
during Free Practice and Qualifying but could only be used in certain
zones throughout the race. Bridgestone withdrew from F1 at the end
of 2010 which made way for Pirelli to join the fray. Pirelli
promised a much more aggressive approach to tyre selections than it's
predecessor which in turn should have led to better racing. To
assist Pirelli the FIA also mandated the Weight Distribution of the
2011 challengers. KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) also made a
return to F1 with the technology having been worked on by the teams
and engine manufacturers throughout 2010.

With DDD's banned the team could once
again return to the RB5's ethos of a low slung gearbox and crash
structure lowering the CoG. What it did carry over from the RB6
however was it's low slung exhaust aimed at driving air through the
diffuser. Red Bull had enhanced the concept by shrouding the exhaust
in a tunnel that lead the exhaust plume to both flow between the
Diffusers edge and the tyre and also blow through the aperture in the
outer 5cm of the Diffuser. (Half over the floor and half under it,
aiding in the prevention of tyre squirt by sealing the edge of the
Diffuser)

Red Bull's EBD was readily copied by
the other teams who also had one eye on Renault's FEE (Front Exit
Exhaust) but as with everything in F1 the team who adopts something
first is usually the only one to fully extract it's potential. With
a fully integrated EBD the airflow being seen by the halfshafts no
longer became a threat and so the shrouding they received in the
RB5/6 forms were removed gaining another element from which to create
downforce. The Diffuser saw some alterations for China with the
outer sections being reduced in height meanwhile a perforated gurney
was added to the inner section. (Below)

The FIA grew weary of the teams pursuit
of exhaust gas manipulation via engine mapping quite early into the
2011 season and moved to ban it's use. After much too-ing and
frowing with the teams, engine manufacturers and FIA the ban was
lifted for 2011.

At the front of the car the team
returned to the Hammerhead layout with the FOM cameras either side of
the nose tip. Effort was still being placed on finding ways to flex
the front wing even with more restrictive load tests.

Above: Sebastian negotiates the
Melbourne Circuit, the RB7 features the FOM camera's in the
Hammerhead/Handlebar position once more

Above: At Valencia a new set of turning vanes
were introduced in order to better maximise the flow under the nose

Above: As always the team tried different
Front Wing configurations throughout the season with perhaps the
notable iteration coming in Singapore. The Front Wing introduced in
Singapore featured 2 distinct alterations: Next to the mandated
central portion of the Mainplane the wing arced, this creates an
elongated vortex that I'd imagine was designed to help control
airflow transmitted from the tyres. Next to the usual Cascade
arrangement a new R Cascade had also sprouted up, this cascade would
work in unison with the flaps tip behind it to create a stronger spiraling vortex

Strategy had become less important
throughout 2010 due to the lack of refuelling and lack of hard tyre
choices by Bridgestone. This changed for 2011 with Pirelli's
entrance to the sport increasing tyre degradation levels and
requiring both the drivers and teams to react differently. Red
Bull's superior downforce levels compared to the rest of the field
didn't mean they had less of a challenge with the tyres just a
different scale. Red Bull did however push their luck a little too
far in Spa when they blistered their tyres in qualifying. Red Bull
asked that they be allowed to run with a new set of tyres at the
start of the race but the FIA declined as Pirelli had been
recommending maximum camber with which to run and the team had
ignored.

The team had KERS onboard for the first
race in Melbourne (having not used it throughout 2009) but due to
reliability issues they decided not to use it until Malaysia. It
didn't stop Sebastian taking the first victory of the year though.
KERS continued to be Red Bull's Achilles heel with Newey even
remarking that he'd prefer not to run it, which obviously stems from
his clear favour of aero. KERS compromises the aero package due to
both it's physical properties and cooling requirements both of which
disturb Adrian. Even with lingering KERS problems the team were
dominant with Sebastian finishing on the podium in all but two races
(4th in Germany and a DNF in Abu Dhabi) taking both titles
again and completing the double, double.

2012 – RB8

The RB8 was another evolution of the RB5 concept, refinements came in the form of 2012's controversial Step Nose and Sidepod Airflow Conditioners that now arched to meet the top of the Sidepod. In the case of the RB8's step nose the team had used the area as for driver cooling taking an advantage of an area that would otherwise impact on the airflow over the top of the cockpit.

Red Bull had been at the cutting edge
over the last few seasons utilisng Exhaust positioning and clever
engine mapping in order to enhance their aerodynamics. The technical
regulations for 2012 would however put pay to this progress with the
exhausts now required to exit atop of the Sidepods. The Red Bull
team had reportedly spent some of their development time chasing a
method of re-ingesting the exhaust gases above the central portion of
the Diffuser which would lead to nearly the same levels of downfroce
seen in 2010/11. The FIA duly outlawed the design before it even hit
the tarmac leaving the team to redesign their 2012 challenger.

When the teams arrived at testing it
was clear that several options had been pursued but as usual the Red
Bull design team were not showing their hand early on when they
arrived in Jerez with an exhaust reminiscent of the RB5's placed just
under the upper wishbone.

Above: The exhaust solution tested
by RBR at the first test in Jerez was aimed at the Beam Wing

Once again the team were intent on
removing the Magnus effect and it's interaction with the exhaust
plume and so the RB8 featured a full length halfshaft shroud. This
could be seen at the Jerez and was an indication that the exhaust
featured above was a Red-Herring.

Above: Red Bull's first test with
the RB8 showed the team using a full length halfshaft shroud in order
to remove the Magnus effect from the equation. This picture also
shows the new Diffuser and full length perforated Gurney that the
team would adopt for 2012. The Rear Wings endplates were now
attached further forward to allow for the Gurney

When the team arrived at the final test
in Barcelona the RB8 sported a new rear end with the exhaust placed
extremely far forward on the Sidepod in a ramped configuration. The
exhausts positioning would utilise the airflow downwashing over the
Sidepod sending it over the top of the diffuser and into the gap
between the floor and tyres that the EBD's of 2010/11 had previously
done. The ramp used on the RB8 also prohibited the flow from around
the Sidepod interacting with the exhaust plume in a way which would
be detrimental but this is where the team pushed the regulations
further. A Tunnel toward the rear of the Sidepods ramp allowed air
to migrate underneath the ramp and exit into the exhaust plumes
natural flow.

Above: The RB8's configuration in
the last Barcelona test as we can see the tunnel exits just infront
of the pull rod into the exhausts flow.

Above: Added to the RB8 with the new
exhaust iteration was 2 floor mounted strakes underneath the shrouded
halfshafts. These were placed here to guide the airflow as it passed
over the region.

The RB8's exhaust solution was
complicated and although CFD and Wind Tunnel had clearly simulated
it's merits on track the drivers complained of inconsistencies. This
didn't stop the team from taking 2nd and 4th
for Seb and Mark respectively in Melbourne. The team revised the
exhaust channel for Malaysia opting for a more square edged channel
which would change the way in which the exhaust plume interacted with
the surrounding airflow. But whilst Mark continued in the same vein
with another 4th place Sebastian languished outside the
points in 11th having collided with Karthikeyan whilst he
had been placed 4th.

For China the team decided to split
their strategies as Seb still struggled with the exhausts
inconsistent nature. This reminded me of a piece I had read by Mark
Hughes during 2010 when Red Bull introduced their Exhaust Blown
Diffuser:

At this part of the season,
Webber was genuinely able to get more from the car's exhaust-blown
diffuser.

In its initial form, this component required a very
specific driving technique to maximise the time on open throttle -
which increased the downforce boost from the exhaust plume - and
Webber was superb at it, consistently squeezing just that little bit
more from it than his team-mate.

Vettel continued to be
better at living with a little bit of entry oversteer, and that
ability to adapt to the car moving around him was maybe partly why he
was not as insistent on adapting his technique to a feature that
calmed the rear end as soon as you got on the throttle.

From
Valencia onwards however, the Renault engine was running software
that retarded the ignition off-throttle, using the extra heat created
to maintain exhaust flow to the diffuser even off-throttle.

Suddenly that downforce boost was
there even during braking and Webber's specialised technique was no
longer required. That improvement, in other words, took away a key
Webber advantage.

Above:
Sebastian ran the exhaust configuration seen in pre-season testing at
China, the exhaust is placed toward the rear of the car just below
the suspension arm using this as a deflection tool to push air
downstream. This configuration (due to the exhaust layout) has a much
longer sidepod region which means the airflow has to travel much
further down the car before it interacts with the exhaust airflow.
Having the exhaust in this position is much more neutral and will
give a less ‘twitchy’ car however net rear downforce could
suffer.

Above: Post race at China we can see
that Mark's car now features a much more squared off Exhaust channel

3rd time lucky? At Bahrain
the team introduced their 3rd exhaust solution of 2012
which had the tunnel closed off. This design was the same as the one
on the Sauber C31 and removed the inconsistencies that the tunnel was
creating both off throttle and in yaw.

Above: Sebastian takes his first
victory of the season in Bahrain meanwhile his team mate took his
fourth, fourth place of the season

The team also adopted a similar
solution being implemented on the Sauber in front of the rear wheels
with a duct next to the vertical strake. The idea behind these are
to reduce Tyre Squirt which is an unwanted aerodynamic effect of the
rotating wheel/tyre. As the air dissapates from the wheel/tyre it is
sent laterally into the diffuser's flow disrupting downforce. The
holes/slots manage the airflow coming off the wheel/tyre and reduce
the effects of squirt.

Above: The Tyre Squirt duct in use
in Bahrain

Sandwiched in between Bahrain and the
next round in Barcelona was the first in season test for 4 years
taking place at Mugello. Red Bull had stated they saw no reason for
in season testing and it was an expense that the team was bearing for
little gain. They tested but provided no clues to what we could see
in the forthcoming races instead concentrating on correlation work
and tyre setup. One surprise did however come out Mugello with
Caterham attempting a Red Bull style tunnel, they didn't waste huge
chunks of time evaluating the option though and it didn't see the
light of day again

Above: The Caterham CT-01 featured a
Red Bull style cross-under tunnel in Mugello

In Barcelona the team returned to using
the cross-under tunnel Sidepod but this time the tunnel had been
extended and instead of releasing the airflow into the exhaust plume
it would now be funnelled and released through the engine cover and
out the back of the car.

Above: The elongated Tunnel now
directed airflow entering it into the Engine cover and most likely
exited the flow through the Starter Hole a rare glimpse of which was
captured below by AmuS. As we can see in the picture above even with
the use of the cross-under tunnel back the team continued to use the
Tyre Squirt duct too

By this stage the team had added more
control fins under the halfshaft shrouds with 2 now either side of
the car. Furthermore a re-ingestion hole had appeared in the floor
of the RB8 aft of the pull rod aiding flow to the central portion of
the car.

Monaco saw the Tyre Squirt ducts on the
RB8 come under scrutiny with most of the teams contesting their
legality. Unlike the ones on the C31 and F2012 Red Bull's did not
break the floor at it's edge which effectively makes theirs a duct
and not a slot. At the time I wrote the following articles detailing
it:

As the Red Bull style duct was outlawed
the team went to Canada with their ramped style exhaust that didn't
feature the cross-under tunnel but ever eager to understand and learn
the team used a rather impressive Pitot Tube array on the car during
the Free Practice sessions.

Having taken pole in Montreal I
remarked at the time I believed Sebastian had taken too much from the
tyres. This proved to be the case and his race result was further
compromised when the team tried to eek out his stints demoting him to
4th as both Grosjean and Perez passed the German on
fresher rubber.

A two week break after Montreal and the
return to Europe in Valencia awaited the teams, Red Bull had been
busy back at the factory and arrived with what could have been
classified as a B-Spec car.

The RB8 now featured a expanded version
of the cross-under tunnel with which 2 entrance/exits were in use.
Vortex Generators had been added to the top of the Sidepod in order
to further enhance the 'downwash' that lead to the exhaust channel.
Another pair of vertical floor strakes were added under the halfshaft
shrouds (now with 3 either side) to groom the airflow.

Above: The new Sidepod ramp for Valencia which featured 2 Tunnels

The pace of the Red Bull's in Valencia
was quite frightening when compared to that of it's rivals with
Mark's pace disguised by his lowly starting position of 19th.
He finished the race in 4th but his team mate failed to
finish due to an alternator failure, a gremlin that would also force
the Renault powered car of Grosjean's to a DNF.

Above: For Silverstone the team
revised the channel around the exhaust creating a hump in order to
encase the airflow.

At Hockenheim the team became embroiled
in yet another technical infringement, this time centered around the
use of torque maps. The FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer made this
statement: “Having examined the engine base torque map of car
numbers 01 and 02 it became apparent that the maximum torque output
of both engines is significantly less in the mid rpm range than
previously seen at other Events. In my opinion this is therefore in
breach of article 5.5.3 of the 2012 Formula 1 technical regulations
as the engines are able to deliver more torque at a given engine
speed in the mid rpm range. Furthermore this new torque map will
artificially alter the aerodynamic characteristics of both cars which
is also in contravention of TD 036-11. I am referring this matter to
the stewards.”

3 hours after Jo's report was released
the stewards responded with:

“The stewards received a report
from the FIA Technical Delegate, along with specific ECU data from
Red Bull Racing Cars 1 and 2. The Stewards met with the team
representatives and the representative of the engine supplier
Renault.While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the
team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the
map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula
One Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”

Effectively the stewards were saying
that although Red Bull were breaking the rules per-se the way in
which the rules had been written still allowed what Red Bull were doing. This led the FIA to ratify the rules after the GP requiring a
torque map to be selected by each team from the first 5 races of the
season and giving a target % to work within that map. Essentially
the map used by Red Bull in Hockenheim limited the torque available
to the driver by offsetting the pedal position to the power being
produced. This aided in both increased drivability and a more
continuous exhaust airflow allowing the exhaust gasses to provide
aerodynamic advantage even when the driver was curtailing his
throttle usage.

This didn't adversely effect Red Bull
who went on to score good points up until Monza where the curse of
the Renault alternator struck Sebastian Vettel again giving him
another DNF.

Singapore represented another fairly
large shift for Red Bull with another package of upgrades they flew
out a new Nosecone/Front Wing which represents a change in
philosophy, the Top Flap now separates into two sections making the
Wing 4 tiers as opposed to 3. The tips of the Top Flap in combination
with the R Cascade in front of it are designed to vorticise the
airflow leading to a more energised flow being dispatched along the
car.

In Tandem with these Front Wing changes
the team also revised the nosecone of the RB8 utilising a 'Pelican'
style underbelly to the nose whilst extending the tip of the nose and
also placing the FOM Camera's into a more forward and lower position.
Red Bull have adopted the hammerhead camera placement since Belgium
tidying up the area between the Front Wing Pylons and allowed for the
introduction of the Tilting or Rotating Wing and 'Pelican'
underbelly. Like most teams Red Bull originally used the camera's in
a position behind the central section of the Front Wing to attenuate
the airflow's characteristics. This is important as the central
portion of the Wing is an area subject to specific rulings set out by
the FIA in order to the limit the amount of downforce/effect
generated here however with a Lower Nose tip and 'Pelican' underbelly
the effect has been altered higher up.

Above: In the image above I've
overlayed a picture of the RB8 from Hungary (Right) with an image
from Suzuka. The Green arrows depict the placement of the FOM
camera's, Yellow arrow's show the difference in the Top Flap and I've
lightened the area under the nose on the left and marked it with a
Red arrow to show the 'Pelican'. (The image will never give a 100%
accurate impression of the as they are taken from different
distances/angles and the car is in different stages of inertia but I
feel it gives an idea of what you should be looking for)

Abu Dhabi and Interlagos featured some
of the best driving and strategic calls we have seen from Sebastian
and Red Bull respectively. Abu Dhabi however became another source
of speculation in regard to the use of Flexing materials at the front
of the RB8. I covered both the race from Seb's perspective and the
issue of flexing Nose/Wings here:
http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/abu-dhabi-gp-vettels-rise-red-bulls-fall.html

Red Bull's early adoption of a longer
wheelbase with the RB5 helped with the transition from the re-fueling
of 09 to the full tanks of 10. Their understanding of the slick
tyres also provided the team with a great platform on which to work
but it was their unwavering will to push the boundaries of both the
technical regulations and implementation and marriage of new and old
technologies in combination in order to extract more performance from
their cars that has ultimately made them a force to be reckoned with.
A superb infrastructure in terms of both staff and facilities sets
the team in good stead for the future and with a stable rule set for
2013 I see no reason why the team won't once again be challenging for
both titles.

Whilst I'm trying to keep atop of the blog you may have noticed of late that there is less content appearing. For those of you that haven't realised, most of my work has now been moved over to Motorsport.com where I'm working with Giorgio Piola.

I'm still doing the technical image gallery for each GP with the continued support of friend of the site Sutton Images. However, as always my time is limited and so this might not be updated as quickly as it once was, so keep checking back.

As some of you may have found out already I'm also working with the Missed Apex crew on their podcast from time-to-time, either doing race reviews or dedicated 'Tech Time' shows.

I've embedded the latest version of the podcast below and will update this a frequently as I appear. However, please head over to Itunes if you want it to appear in your player when episodes are available. The show is great to work on and has a great lineup of 'regulars' but has also enticed some bigger names recently too, with Will Buxton and Bradley Philpot on shows during the summer break.

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Sutton Images

Sutton Images provide the best images direct from the action every GP weekend allowing me to show you just where and what the teams are improving.